Grey-striped Spurfowl vs African Blue Quail

Pternistis griseostriatus compared with Synoicus adansonii

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Side-by-Side Comparison

Attribute Grey-striped Spurfowl African Blue Quail
Scientific Name Pternistis griseostriatus Synoicus adansonii
Order Galliformes Galliformes
Family Phasianidae Phasianidae
Conservation Status Least Concern Least Concern
Length
Wingspan 30.3 cm (11.9 in) 14.9 cm (5.9 in)
Weight 314.5 g (11.09 oz) 41.666666666666664 g (1.47 oz)
Diet Forages for seeds, invertebrates, and plant material in Angolan forest and savanna. Feeds on small grass seeds, invertebrates, and plant matter in African tropical grassland and wetland …
Clutch Size -- 3-9
Population Trend
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Habitat Comparison

Shared Habitats

Grey-striped Spurfowl only

None

African Blue Quail only

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Song & Call Comparison

Grey-striped Spurfowl

Song

Sharp, rasping 'krek-KRAK' calls from Angola forest; smaller spurfowl with higher voice. Alarm is rapid cackle. Poorly known relative to widespread congeners. Pairs call at dawn in forest.

African Blue Quail

Song

High, thin 'wee-wee-wee-wee' whistle in series; tiny, cryptic African grassland quail. Alarm is a sharp 'pip'. Very quiet overall; contact clucks barely audible. Calls at dawn and dusk.

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Geographic Range & Migration

Grey-striped Spurfowl

Resident of coastal lowland forest and thicket in Angola and western DR Congo; restricted to the Atlantic coast belt.

African Blue Quail

Nomadic resident of open grassland, wetland edge, and savanna across sub-Saharan Africa from Senegal to Ethiopia and south to Angola.

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Conservation Status

Least Concern

Grey-striped Spurfowl

Least Concern

African Blue Quail

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How to Tell Them Apart

Grey-striped Spurfowl

Plumage

Grey-brown above with distinctive grey and white shaft streaking; pale buff underparts with grey-brown lateral streaking giving greyish tonal quality; red bill; yellowish legs; red orbital skin. Angola endemic.

African Blue Quail

Plumage

Male dark slaty-blue overall with chestnut flanks; white face markings with black border; similar to Asian Blue Quail. Female brown with buff streaking; pale underparts. African counterpart of Asian Blue …

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About These Birds

Grey-striped Spurfowl

A small Phasianidae spurfowl (~315 g) of dense forest understorey and gallery forest in western Angola and adjacent DRC. Finely grey-streaked plumage is distinctive among spurfowls. Shy and little studied; forages on seeds and invertebrates. Least Concern; restricted range but habitat relatively intact.

African Blue Quail

A tiny Phasianidae quail (~42 g) of tall grasses and moist savanna across sub-Saharan Africa. Males have a slaty-blue face and rusty-buff flanks; one of Africa's smallest birds. Highly secretive; rarely flushed. Feeds on tiny grass seeds and invertebrates. Migratory or nomadic following rains. Least Concern.

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